The Dickinson press., 1887-04-23
ENGLISH PARLIAMENT.
THE MOST CELEBRATED REPRE-.
SENTATIVE BODY IN THE WORLD.
What May be Seen by Visitor in tho
Gallery-IIow Business is Conducted.
n" Limit I" tho Length of Speeches.
Mr. Gladstone tho Chief Magnet.

Gailery-IIow Business is Conducted.
n" Limit t" tho Length of Speeches.
-Hr. Gladstone tho Chief Magnet,
y visitor goes down to Westminster, let us
say Oh Monday, when the house of commons
is to NJ ri, n, pm. momnally), in order to
scr !''' ".des! and most celebrated representa-
tive Ao'ly i'll the world. After being elbowed
i'ho"t among the strangers (as the British
public are officially designated i'll what is
supposed by polite fiction to be their horse)
and ord red about by policemen who look at
INN as though he was Il spy or traitor, the
Visitor takes his seat i'll the gallery and
chances down into the arena. 1t is pm,
and thr speaker is i'll his chair but there arc
low members present, and nothing seems to
b" doing. .Nf;er Il while the visitor becomes
aware of II dumb show going oll-a sort of
ran'oniin,c in which the chief performers are
IL clerk i'll wig and gown at the tablo and
Il gentleman who stands at tho right hand
si'l''"t that piece Of furniture 1t is the read
Ing of tl" private bills. If any Of these
should lie opposed, members will flock in, and
th"l" Will bc n debate and division. But
otherwise the chamber will be almost empty.
Giitnaliy members come struggling in and
take their seats. There is scarcely room in
thu body of the chamber for two-thirds of tho
El"m!rrs, anl therefore as tho benches fill up
1i!c kate arrivals take their places in the side
galleries, whence they survey the scene.
Ihrrr are no convenicnccs for writing or
taking notes, aud Il, nearly every ono has his
hat On, n less busncSsliic working body it
would lac difficult to imagine or describe. 1t
Is more ilian 'i:3o O'Clock before tho real busi-
nrs4 ie,sins, for tl!cso gentlemen who arc sup
posed to b" aevotinS themselves to the service
"l llicr country are really engaged during
the working, part of the day OH their private
affairs. Their best energies are given to the
stock exchange, or the law courts, or tho
Office, or TO pleasure; the dregs they kindly
offer to the unfortunate country
BEGINNING OF BUSINESS.
The first indication of business is in tho no.
tees OF notion members (who are called by
name, reading out the terms of Il resolution
Which tiicv announce they will move ona
siHen occasion. Then comes Question time"
which generally consumes from thrcc-quar-
lels "i an hour To nearly two hours. Any
member "l" has previously given notice of
ms Intention may put question to any mem
Der oi the government in the house OIL any
subject, from a momrntous diplomatic Incl
dent down To the parish pump Little Ped
lIhSton. IL cannot be denied that these q,es-
tions sometimes bring forth valuable infor-
nation, but that Information might all be
printed, instead OF valuable time being con-
stunned i'll the answers. For be it rcmen-
'cfed That these answers are, in at least half
the Instances, all written down by officers in
the particular department, and the minister
| mercy read, what hus been prepared for
him.
To show the absurdity of this in reference
to Ireland and the consequent necessity of
home rule there, n member gives notice on
Monday of a question he will put on Thurs
day I" the Irish secretary. That gentleman
probably knows nothing of the subject matter
of the question. He writes or tclegraphs to
Dublin for information and OH Thursday re-
ceives n reply from Dublin which lie solemnly
reads III the house. 1t would ho difficult to
conceive greater inaptitudc Some of the an
swcrs given evoke party demonstrations OIL
one side or the other, for tho house is always
full ut question time. Whether it will be full
Immediately after depends upon tho subject
and the speaker. If there is an adjourned
debate to be opened by an eminent member,
most of the other members retain their places.
Mr. Gladstone is, of course, the chief magnet;
ho attracts every one. Next to him Lord
Randoph Churchill draws the fullest house:
and after that crratic politician would como
Mr. Parnell, Mr. Labouchere, Mr. Morley,
Sir w. Harcourt, Sir w. Lawson Mr.. Sex
ton and Mr.. Chamberlain. But if an unm
l'"rtant or dull man rises to speak there is
regular stampede, and where 400 or 500 men
were just now sitting you will not SEQ more
than forty or fifty. The rest have gone to
talk political gossip, or to write letters, or to
see some Of their constituents
ARRAY OF EMPTY BENCHES
by Z p. H., or u little after, as general rule,
nearly all the members have gone to dinner,
ana the chamber presents a bcggarly array of
empty benches. To these empty benches and
To The weary speakers the borcs and wind
bags hold forth for three mortal hours Tho
period from { to 10 is generally sacred to
them. They have nothing to say and they
say it very badly. You have read or heard
all the old drcary arguments hundred times
OYER; but these men bring them out as i'm
i'ressively us though they were stuting new
ideas of til" most profound nature There is
10 time limit TO speeches in the house of
commons; and it is possible that this whole
three hours might be taken up by one bore,
though that is not often the case. AT about
O'Clock there is usually brief cessation,
wh'n the speaker goes out for refrcshment
ivh"h is popularly supposed to con-
sist Of Il mutton chop and glass of
'h''ti VII iiio return lut ufOnlnR con-
tin'mS. At about luuclocii p. m. the members
be3.n IL drop in, several of them in evening
'.rosi If 81 g"oi speaker is on his legs this is
niiTely time; ii not, several Of the gentlemen
Hho havc eaton and drank not wisely but too
'ici! 20 to sleep Some time between midnight
aud o'clock in the morning the debate is
either adjourned generally after a wrange),
or there Is Il division; then, as the newspapers
say, "'ll" remaining motions are disposed of
and the house ;djourns'
OF the house of lords will say nothing: it
is too terrible theme. y dozen peers and
three or four bishops sitting for an hour con-
stitute the nominal session of that body.
What | have written is Of the popular
hou'" On that chamber dccreptude seems to
have fallen. The visitor is struck by its list
les, ways Witi a few exceptions the men,
Lers do not seem To have gathered together to
do anything; the nations business is not
transacted here You meet several good and
earnest men, Il very few able men; but col
lcct"elj they appear to be helpless And SO
things are drifting, drifting whittier, who
linowa London Cor. New York Commercial
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